<quoted text>Suicide is cowardly. I don't see how acknowledging that makes me a sociopath.<quoted text>I am not a homophobe. I would've responded the same way regardless of the sexual orientation.Some of those people out there contemplating suicide need to take a look at reality and ask themselves "is life really that bad?"And what about the people they'd be leaving behind in grief!Suicide is a cowardly, selfish act. That is the truth.

NO, that is neither "truth" nor "fact", it is your OPINION. You are entitled to your "opinion" your are not entitled to your own "facts or "truth".

With children as young as 11 killing themselves as a result of anti-gay bullying it should be clear that prejudice plays a major role in self destruction. For an 11 year old who is being harassed and tortured daily, life can be "really that bad". You are expecting young people who have not yet developed the coping skills you have developed to have an understanding of life that is way beyond their developmental stage and abilities. This is why we place age limits on signing contracts, driving, drinking, marriage, and even accountability for criminal behavior. The expectations of coping mechanisms you are placing on others must be developed. Hate, prejudice, and discrimination lead to needless suffering and death.

"The research, published in the January Pediatrics (Vol. 123, No. 1), found that LGB adults who reported high rates of parental rejection in their teens were 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide, 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression, 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3.4 times more likely to have had unprotected sex than LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection, reports the study team, headed by Caitlin Ryan, PhD, of San Francisco State University."Because families play such a critical role in child and adolescent development, it is not surprising that adverse, punitive and traumatic reactions from parents and caregivers would have such a negative influence on [young people's] risk behaviors and health status as young adults," the authors write.

Preliminary results are promising: "We've seen that families can grow and become more supportive once they've learned how their words, actions and behaviors affect their LGBT children," she says."

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